It is amusing with what rapid speed political commentators, journalists, essayists, and bloggers latch onto a catchphrase, isn't it?
At least with the Slate article I started reading, the word "fetish" is used with regard with cherry picking. It is a somewhat valid point, nevertheless, the point was nearly shattered when I then read:
"And unless Tea Party Republicans are willing to stand proud and announce that they adore and revere the whole Constitution as written, except for the First, 14, 16th, and 17th amendments, which totally blow, they should admit right now that they are in the same conundrum as everyone else: This document no more commands the specific policies they espouse than it commands the specific policies their opponents support."
What an awful way of describing and analyzing a political movement for an essay.
Then for the blog, why pollute your message with more silly ideas? "Update: Big, honking, neon-lit proof of the authoritarian nature of conservatism — some blogger thinks my remarks about constitutional fetishism are treason." Because some yahoo on the internet exaggerates the nature of the disagreement with said blogger, the 'authoritarian nature' of conservatism is shown? For anytime a joker calls treason, every political impulse would be labeled as such.
The media mourns the selectivity of the document, but is only selectively outraged by the Constitution in the hands of conservatives. It is certainly true that it is easy to select what one likes about the Constitution and politely ignore that which you do not. It is easy to find that in a number of texts, be they documents for governance or not (The Bible and Tocqueville are frequent targets in this regard). It does not negate the usefulness of the document itself, which is frequently implied when liberals find something either antique or possibly contrarian to their views. I found it political pandering to read the document in Congress, but I also found it useful for leaders to feel that responsibility, and for the public to feel even more respect for the hard work and political wisdom in such a document.